A tickle down my back wakes me up. I open my eyes to find my face caked in Rahlan's white shirt. I fell asleep on him. Blue light pokes through thin holes in the window shutters, so it couldn't have been longer than a couple of hours. I've had nearly no rest over the last few days, and I fell asleep the moment I was wrapped up in his arms again.

"My apologies for waking you," Rahlan says, "Your human friend indicated that a meal would soon be ready."

I press myself to sit up. Jaclyn not only saw me kissing a vampire, but also sleeping in his arms? She must think I'm completely dependent on him, like a child.

Rahlan shoots up straight, eliciting a yelp out of me. I'm sitting on his legs, with my nose up against his chin. He recovers fast.

His gaze finds mine again, and his hands rest on my back, keeping me close. I know what he wants.

"You can drink," I say.

He leans down. His breath rolls over the base of my neck, and the memory of his kisses jumps to the front of my mind.

He bites, and a sigh escapes my lips. I curl my legs around his waist.

Soon his teeth disappear, and his finger applies a little pressure to the cut. The hand on my back doesn't let me go, keeping my body pressed up against his.

I rest my head on his shoulder, letting my eyes wander around his profile. He trekked through the forest for days to find me, worrying about what may have happened. This man, this vampire, wants me as I am, a girl with no status, no family and nothing to her name.

"Julia."

"Mm?" I close my eyes again.

"You must return with me to Litton."

He wants to take me back with him, to my country, to a land now ruled by vampires. I've personally witnessed how humans are treated in a vampire country, where they are imprisoned in dungeons, humiliated in pillories and are nothing more than property.

"As a slave?" I ask.

"As my woman."

My heart thuds, and my cheeks go pink. Fortunately, I'm too close for him to see. As his woman – is that his way of saying – "As your wife?" I ask.

His hands touch my sides, and he moves my body further back down his legs, breaking our embrace. I can just imagine it – me, Rahlan's wife, not a lesser, but an equal. I'd be forever bound to a man who cares about my safety, a man who wants me as I am and would leave his castle to travel for days through thick forest to find me. I will not only have a home with Rahlan, but I will be part of a family again.

"Not as my wife," he says.

The smile drops from my face.

"As my woman, I will be committed to you alone. You bring me great joy, but our priests would never join a human and a vampire in marriage."

My eyes fall to my lap. I'd be going back to a dangerous land on Rahlan's promise alone. He enjoys being with me now, but what if his feelings change?

He touches my cheek, gently brushing the hair out of my face.

"Then let's go to a country with priests that would marry us," I say.

He shakes his head. "It cannot happen."

My arms hug my middle. I want to go with him, to be with someone who values me. If he promises to love me like his wife, then is it really any different than being married? He has given up a lot to have me, and that should serve as proof of his commitment. I know now that I love him, and he loves me.

His fingers tap mine, and my gaze snaps back to his. "Do you agree to return with me?" he asks.

I want to be with him, but a part of me is afraid. This would mean giving myself to a vampire, to live in a land with vampires which are hostile to me. I'll be seen as a second-class citizen for the rest of my life, at least in the eyes of everyone but Rahlan.

My gaze drifts from the wooden door to the window shutters. This is the room Jaclyn prepared just for me. After what we've been through together, and what we've done for each other, I know that her door will always be open to me. This could be my home, in Faria – a land where I would be worth no less than anyone else. I could find work as a farmhand and build a life here like the one I had before.

Rahlan's still looking at me. He's expecting an answer.

"I don't know yet," I say.

After a brief pause, he nods, hopefully in understanding. This may be the most consequential decision of my life, and he can't expect me to know right away. If he can't understand that, then my choice should already be made.

His hands land on my midriff, and I'm lifted off him and placed on the ground. He twists his legs off the thin bed, and his feet hit the floor with a thud. His arms flex as he pushes himself up to stand. It looks like raising his own body takes more strain than lifting mine.

He straightens his legs, propelling himself up to his usual intimidating height. The force of his push sends him too far forward, and he stumbles.

I catch his torso to steady him. His weight presses on me for just a second, and my legs nearly buckle. Some of the Queensblood must still be floating around in his system.

He regains his balance, standing straight.

I release my hold on him, and he plants a kiss on my crown.

My cheeks flush again, and I avert my eyes. I'm not used to this level of affection, but I can't say that I don't enjoy it.

Rahlan puts on his coat and fixes his clothes. I tuck Jacob's necklace away in my pocket.

"Let us eat," Rahlan says. "Your companion has promised a meal of meat."

He opens the door to the living room. I worry for a second that Jaclyn may have another person here with her, but I quickly dismiss the thought. She wouldn't take such a foolish risk.

Jaclyn is carrying food to a small round wooden table surrounded by four chairs. Rahlan takes a seat, and I help Jaclyn set.

She places a pot of cooked chicken on the table. Her gaze lands on Rahlan, and she squares her shoulders. "Vampire Rahlan, I know that you may be used to being in charge, but this is my house."

Rahlan smirks.

"Julia may not mind being bitten, but I don't want to find your fangs anywhere near me," she says.

Rahlan nods. "You have my promise."

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Jaclyn hands him a plate and takes her seat. He would only drink from me anyway, so she has nothing to worry about.

I find a chair, and we all begin dishing. The small round table has just enough room for the three of us – two humans and a vampire. It's an odd situation for everyone. Jaclyn has inadvertently invited a vampire to her house for a meal. Rahlan's having lunch under a human's roof, even if it is only as a somewhat welcome guest, and I'm sitting here between the two of them, trying to convince myself to go back to live in a vampire country.

The delicious smell of the chicken catches my nose, drawing my attention to my plate. Jaclyn has set out a knife and fork for everyone. She must have grown up in a wealthy village where they emulated the noble's dining customs.

My eyes linger on my own knife and fork. Rahlan would want me to eat with both, but he can't control me here. I could just rebelliously eat with my fingers again, but I don't want to upset him over something so trivial.

Watching Rahlan's hands as a model, I take the knife with my right hand and begin cutting my food.

Rahlan tied me to a chair the last time that I refused to use these utensils. When I go back with him, will it be different now that he considers me his woman? He said that he'd be committed to me alone. It sounds like marriage with a different name. I've always dreamed of having a husband, it just seemed so far from ever coming true.

I lift the fork to my mouth and take a bite of the chicken.

In marriages in my home village of Heldana, people would say that the husband was the head of the household. With my father dying when I was young, I've never seen a man act as the head of the household before, but I can't believe that Rahlan holding that title would make it acceptable to tie me down over a disagreement. That seems closer to being treated like a slave, and it's not something I want to experience again.

"Where is my weapon?" Rahlan asks.

Jaclyn jumps to answer. "You may have it back when leaving." She collected both our swords from the chapel while I stayed with Rahlan, and she's the only one who knows where they are.

Rahlan doesn't seem phased.

"Julia," he begins, "has your mind settled on an answer?"

He already expects an answer? It hasn't been more than a few minutes.

"An answer to what?" Jaclyn asks.

"To her willingness to return with me," Rahlan says.

Jaclyn stares at me with wide eyes.

I fiddle with the food on my plate. She knew that I was in love with him, and she saw us kissing, so it shouldn't be that surprising.

Just the thought of his affection makes my chest bubble. Thinking back to our time in his castle, even with the disagreement over breakfast, the memories of him holding me, reading to me and even tickling me makes me smile. I spent most of the journey here wishing that he was beside me, and if I decide to stay, I know that the longing will return when he leaves.

He's given me the choice – even if he is a little impatient. If he was planning to treat me like a slave, like a prisoner, then he wouldn't ask. He let Ivan go because he wants me to be happy, and he's asking me to come with him because he wants me to want to be with him.

And I do want to be with him.

My gaze meets his. "I will."

"Excellent." After putting his knife and fork together on his empty plate, he stands. "I shall purchase a horse for our route home." He heads towards the front door.

"Wait," Jaclyn calls.

I shoot up from my chair and block his path.

He stops, raising an eyebrow.

"You're a vampire. This is a human village," I say.

He straightens his coat collar. "I doubt that the humans here would risk insulting me by refusing to trade."

"Jaclyn, will still be here after we leave, and the villagers won't forget seeing a vampire stroll out of her house."

He glances back at her. She has her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She's not fond of vampires, and Rahlan isn't making it any easier.

"I will go," I say.